HAMDEN – Town officials have announced a resolution to the long running case of two rottweilers held since 2012 after they attacked a grandmother and her granddaughter.
Their names are Kato and Kleo – they are now 8 and 7 years old.
Hamden Mayor Kurt Leng announced both dogs have been finally freed from the pound and transported to a sanctuary for animals in Florida. The decision was made after a lot of back and forth between the state, town, the dogs’ owner and animal advocacy groups.
“The child’s grandmother was like a 45-year old woman who came running down and started yelling at the dogs. It was a big deal. The neighbors came, they started beating Kato with baseball bats,” said Gunbir Gauba, advocate of Kato and Kleo.
Both dogs were rushed to the North Haven Pound after the alleged attack where all they saw were fences for the next seven years.
“The beds would be wet and poor Kato would sit on the wet floor. He has cancer. He has scabs from sitting on the concrete floor. The temperature gauge today was 45 degrees,” added Gauba.
The case got the attention of animal lovers across the country, therefore a Facebook page was created to raise awareness.
Gauba, one of Kato and Kleo’s biggest cheerleader, said what happened was the owner ran after the two dogs. All of a sudden, the dogs were surrounded by a crowd and began beating both dogs. Someone was bitten during the chaos and both dogs ended up needing treatment.
After several years of contemplation, a non-profit sanctuary in Florida named Gulfstream Guardian Angels Rottweiler Rescue founded by Grace Acosta agreed to take them in.
“They came very highly recommended and Grace Acosta who runs the rescue is going to house Kato and Kleo in a home. So that was the best possible outcome,” added Gauba.
Hamden Mayor Kurt Leng released this statement:
“I am very pleased to announce that Kato and Kleo, two dogs formerly detained at the North Haven Animal Shelter, are being re-located to a sanctuary facility for animals in Florida.The dogs will live their lives in proper care, surrounding by attentive and loving facility managers. The transfer of the dogs was peacefully completed this morning, providing resolution to a complex and very challenging situation on all sides between the State, Town, and the dogs’ owner Ms. Miller.
Hamden has supported a compassionate resolution to this situation for many years, and I am very happy that all parties have agreed to this solution, and taken the actions necessary to make it happen. I thank Ms. Miller for her cooperation and grace in our discussions. I appreciate the many advocates and officials who have expressed sincere interest and opinions regarding the matter. While it has taken an extraordinary and unfortunate amount of time, with numerous lengthy legal actions, as well as legal and jurisdictional complexities, I believe working to achieve this resolution was the right one and hopefully helps everyone move forward.”
Kato and Kleo were driven down to Florida Wednesday morning where they will live their new life.